Sports

Just over a day after Stan Wawrinka spoke candidly about his friendship with Roger Federer in a press conference, the legendary Swiss turned out at the Dubai Tennis Stadium to support his friend. Federer’s eyes trained on the action from the Royal Box, Wawrinka, who is retiring after Wimbledon this year, rolled back the years with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Lebanese wild card Benjamin Hassan in Monday’s opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Hassan, who was born in Germany,

India's assistant coach has said that the defending T20 World Cup champions will require "two big performances" in order to qualify for the semi-finals after their crash to South Africa on Sunday. India were red-hot favourites on home soil heading into the T20 World Cup but suffered a crushing 76-run defeat in the Super Eights, as the 80,000 fans at the sprawling Narendra Modi stadium fell silent. In their first run chase of the tournament, India's batsmen fell way short against some disciplined South Africa bowling.

South Africa crushed reigning champions India by 76 runs on Sunday in their Super Eight Group One match of the Twenty20 World Cup, confirming their title credentials and serving notice to opponents. Electing to bat in a rematch of the 2024 World Cup final, SA raced to a powerful 187-7 after recovering from 20-3. In response tournament co-hosts India also surrendered their top order to the nerves, and their innings never really broke free from the shackles of chasing a nominal target. They were bowled out for

Elina Svitolina is over the moon to be back in the semifinals of a special tournament. Wed to French tennis player Gael Monfils, Svitolina recently made a heartwarming comeback into the WTA top 10 since she had given birth to their daughter Skai. Svitolina, who is a two-time champion at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, is now just two victories away from winning the tournament for the third time. On Thursday night, the 31-year-old staved off a ferocious wafts from Croatian Antonia Ruzic to secure a

West Indies defeated Italy by 42 runs in their final Twenty20 World Cup Group C match here on Thursday as the two-times champions registered third straight win to enter into Super Eights phase with a clean slate. Captain Shai Hope scored his 11th T20 Internationals half-century, hitting a Man of the Match knock of 75 off 46 balls on either side of what was an industrious bowling effort. Italy were soon reeling in their chase when a nip-backer from Matthew Forde pegged back Justin Mosca’s

Filipina sensation Alexandra Eala extended her fairytale week with a straight-sets victory over grizzled Romanian Sorana Cîrstea 7-5, 6-4 to advance into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. It was also another full house that received the crowd favourite Wednesday night. And the 20-year-old didn’t let her adoring Filipino fans down, storming to victory on Center Court in a match-up that could turn into a mouthwatering quarterfinal against two-time Grand Slam winner US sensation Coco Gauff. The defeat followed a stunning win over world

Elina Svitolina got a walkover win when her round of 32 opponent, Paula Badosa, had to quit because of an injury, Svitolina said it wasn't how she wanted to win. She was up 6-4 when Badosa stopped due to a thigh problem, joining many others who've had to pull out of the tournament. Svitolina smiled when asked about her next match against Belinda Bencic from Switzerland. They’ve both been in the news lately for getting back into the top 10 after having kids.

Australia's out of the T20 World Cup! Zimbabwe moved on to the Super Eights because their game against Ireland got rained out in Kandy, no play at all. So, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are through from Group B. They're heading to the next round to play the West Indies, India, and South Africa. Ireland's out too. It rained all day at the Pallekelle stadium, so the umpires called the game at 5:30 pm local time (1200 GMT). There was no way they could've

New Zealand trounced Canada despite a spectacular century by Yuvraj Samra in their Group D match and with it booked their place in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup at Afghanistan's expense on Tuesday. Glenn Phillips (76) and Rachin Ravindra (59) clobbered unbeat half-centuries as New Zealand eased to a target of 174 with 4.5 overs to spare for their third win out of four. Pool leaders South Africa had already progressed to the super eight from the group with a hat-trick of

Dubai: Haider Ali was put to the sword as Afghanistan struggled for a hard-fought five-wicket win over UAE in Group D of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Delhi on Monday. Afghanistan had chased down 161 with four balls to spare. After being set 161, Afghanistan recovered from the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran put on 40 for the second wicket to stabilise the innings. Zadran attacked Haider Ali in the fourth over, hitting four boundaries on his way to 18 off

Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lanka smashed the first century of the 2026 T20 World Cup on Monday to take his country through to the Super Eights and leave south Asian giants India and hosts Australia verging on elimination. Nissanka made 100 not out off 52 balls with five sixes and 10 fours as Sri Lanka, chasing Australia’s tally of 181, raced to 184-2 two overs to spare in Kandy and win by eight wickets. Zimbabwe would also knock out the 2021 champions were they to beat

If Belinda Bencic was ailing, particularly after withdrawing from the Abu Dhabi Open with an illness on her own doorstep, she did an excellent job of bucking the pain as she wore little more than a warm smile and flashed the victory sign to thousands of fans who serenaded her for selfies. The 28-year-old even took it a step further by posing for an adorable picture with a male admirer, who gave her his one-and-a-half year-old so she could hold him in the photograph. To

Azmatullah stars in Afghanistan win over UAE Afghanistan kept alive their hopes of reaching the Super Eight phase of the Twenty20 World Cup after all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai's heroics guided them to a five-wicket Group D victory over UAE on Monday. The result saw group leaders South Africa (six points, three games) make the Super Eight along with defending champions India and two-time winners West Indies. New Zealand, who are four points ahead with a game in hand against bottom-placed Canada on Tuesday. appear set to snatch

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav expressed his happiness after his side routed arch-rivals Pakistan by 61 runs on Sunday to qualify for the next round of the T20 World Cup in a clash that had been uncertain until a few days back. Suryakumar’s team posted 175 for seven after being given a flying start by Ishan Kishan (77) before bowling out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs. The loss for Pakistan maintained their appalling World Cup record against India. India have triumphed in eight of nine T20 World

Mumbai: The West Indies stormed into the Super Eights stage of the T20 World Cup with a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Nepal on Sunday. Having restricted Nepal to 133-8 in their 20 overs, captain Shai Hope's unbeaten 61 guided his team to a comfortable 134-1 in just 15.2 overs in the Group C game at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium. Hope cruised to his half-century off 38 balls, hitting three sixes and five fours all told. He added an unbroken 91 with Shimron Hetmyer to get to the target

Football loving fans should not miss a perfect thrill of an evening as Al Gharafa SC battles Tractor FC in this most interesting match ever. This encounter, at the lively Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, will be an heated affair with intense battles on the pitch, noisy fans and a real celebration of Asian club football. Match Details Arrive early to enjoy fan activities, find your seats comfortably, and experience the pre-match buzz. Stadium & Seating Guide Thani Bin Jassim Stadium is made for football

Football fans in the Gulf are gearing up for an epic clash when Al Rayyan SC plays against Al Nahda Club. This match, which will take place at the breathtaking Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, is set to deliver end-to-end action and raucous fans in a vibrant stadium ambiance. Match Details Get there early to make the most of pre-match excitement, fan zones and beat last minute queues Stadium & Seating Overview Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium is one of Qatar’s new football venues to have organised matches

Kusal Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka struck half-centuries as 2014 champions Sri Lanka forged momentum in the Twenty20 World Cup with a crushing 105-run victory over Oman in Pallekele on Thursday. Mendis (61) and Rathnayake (60) put on a 94-run stand for the third wicket as Sri Lanka were asked to bat and skipper Shanaka added the late spark with a 19-ball 50 as his team posted 225-5 in their 20 overs. “We are really happy with the way we batted today,” Shanaka said in

Sherfane Rutherford blazed to a belligerent half-century and Gudakesh Motie came up with a brilliant exhibition of slower bowling to inspire West Indies to a 30-run win over England in Twenty20 World Cup Group C on Wednesday. Rutherford hit seven sixes in his unbeaten 76 from 42 balls to lay the foundation for his side's imposing score of 196-6. Twice champions West Indies piled on the spin to return and choke England out by dismissing them for 166 in 19 overs as they spent their rivals

Sahibzada Farhan scored a steady half-century and Usman Tariq claimed three wickets as under-23 team of Pakistan prevailed over the United States by 32 runs in the ICC men's T20 World Cup Group A match in Colombo on Tuesday. The 29-year-old struck five sixes and six fours in his 41-ball 73 and received support from Babar Azam's dazzling 32-ball 46 (four fours, one six) as Pakistan posted 190-9 at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. Their spinners later inflicted a collapse upon the raw USA batting